Dichotomous Poetry

Poetry/poets explored from two different angles. I pulled this together from notes scratched out on my phone a few months back.

II

We are taught in school to open

a poem, pull out the pieces

make their meanings our playthings.

 

Poets, they tell us,

weigh each word, search

for nuance unbreathed,

so we learn 16 words the poet could have chosen

in place of the "cerulean" that paints an ocean

across our mindscape and upon our tongues.

 

We imagine the fingers of his heart

caressing the language, visualise

a pair of hands to hold each word

to the light, to measure it against another.

 

So we find the poet within-

uncover him in our own self

and sew his work up again;

we give it a new soul,

new meaning.

 

 

 

I

And it may be that some poets weigh their words

on household scales, with lines upon the wall

to mark how tall the last stood; fit them

into each other like the pieces of a jigsaw.

 

And it may be that some poets taste their words

licked from a spoon, a pinch of this

to match a shake of that; assembled

together like a recipe for the perfect meal.

 

It is that I would rather divine language's chords

risen in crescendo, blended

in its own harmony; composed

into a symphony whispered in my ear.

Author's Note

As always, all polite/relevant reviews are welcome - including constructive critique, grammar and spelling corrections. I do realise that the numbering is backwards, this is deliberate! Finally, thank you for taking the time to read/leave a review!

Reviews

[NoneOfYourBusiness akaK..]

this is a gorgeous exploration of the poet and her/his personal language~ your composition in and of itself is picturesque exoticness with tangible flavors throughout~ what a vast difference between each and every one of us who are pulled by a muse into the words~ one day we will hold a quill to the light and make words from atoms in the air rewriting everything~hopefully switching on the creative light over a world in desperate need of such beauty and imaginative flex~
It is that I would rather divine language's chords

risen in crescendo, blended

in its own harmony; composed

into a symphony whispered in my ear.



your own language~VOICE~ SHINES BRILLIANT~

[Hello, Goodbye]

Niice

[Larry Dyson]

I too like the smooth rolling flow of a freeform poem or prose..well stated in both references.

[Brenden Moran]

Insightful, yet not too complicated. Makes you want to go back and re-read a few times over. Great presentation and style. Good Job.

[Larry Dyson]

hmmm...".And it may be that some poets weigh their words

on household scales, with lines upon the wall

to mark how tall the last stood;

jigsawed out and pieced togather."

being an old carpenter ..I read jigsaw as the tool...but excellent phrasing.

[Marie Anzalone]

I've never had much use for poets who simply wished to show off the tallness of their words- I much prefer total immersion; not a description from afar, but a shot of heroin from someone who actually knows what it's like to shoot up, and lived to tell the tale; the mountain top from someone who's sweated and ached and striven to climb to the top of a mountain in the 98 degree heat; rather than from the person who drove to an overlook. We each have our own way of looking at things, and I really am drawn more and more to yours.

[Amera]

Absolutely captivating! My feeling is that this is a poet's poem best understood and appreciated by a poet. I found each stanza strong yet delicate in delivery. I found every stanza to be wonderfully original with brilliant metaphor except, "forgive me" the last stanza is a bit cliché ... in my humble opinion, the poem would be better off without it. I love that it is numbered like a vignette but backwards, this made me read it again in reverse; I must ask, is that the reason you did that? Thank you for entering my contest.

Love,
Amera

[ice]

I have done all the above while putting the lines together for a poem..
Enjoyed reading this P.C.

[Poeticadia]

A fantastic deconstruction of poetry and its poets. Working its way from the inside back out to the overall 'recipe for the perfect meal' the entire 'symphony'. Not only divided into two parts... but into two directions as well: it reads backwards as well as forwards... which is unbelievably difficult to do... but you have achieved it seamlessly. These reversed lines are particularly brilliant:

"We imagine the fingers of his heart
across our mindscape and upon our tongues."

"Poets, they tell us,
make their meanings our playthings."

I'm just... WOW!

[nothingnothingforgetfor..]

Wow that was amazing. Great lesson concealed in this words a lot for the mind to grasp. Great work!.